Hock Infection

[ageecee]

How long does a hock infection last? I got one horse that is 7 days with a hock infection. The swelling has not gone down any at all. Shes on antibotics.

[Bondama]

While my tb mare didn't have an infection in her hock, per se, it was on the top of her back foot, kind of the front of the hock area. She cut herself on something, God knows what, we never did find anything we thought might have done it. Anyway, despite our valiant efforts, she developed an infection and it actually swelled her up to the knee and she could barely walk on it. This happened very quickly, within a 48-hour period, and the vet was summoned and placed her on Bute and antibiotics. The swelling took probably a good 10 days to 2 weeks to go down and the lameness 4 weeks or so. On top of that, we gave her another 8+ weeks off to get completely healed and a nice little scar made. My only advice to you is DON'T ignore the injury and hope it will go away. Seek vet care if you are concerned and swelling does not subside even with antibiotics.

[kezeli]

Get yourself a spider bandage and do a furicin sweat with the antibiotics on board as well. Also you may need to culture the wound if it is still "weepy". But be sure to bandage properly, if you don't know how to put up a spider ask a GOOD groom, they are safer than wraping the hock area and better than those elastic things people sometimes use as they don't bind as much and if your good you can leave a spider on over night.

[smilton]

Have they determined what bacteria it is? Rhodococcus can cause hock infections and doesn't alway respond to your basic antibiotics.

[ageecee]

Took her back to the vet today. They took x-rays again just to be sure nothing broken, took a culture, injected her hock with some acid, and took a sample of the fluid to be sent off. vet said the fluid did not look like it was infected but wil know more when the tests come back. Also there is some forming of 2 OCD's and shes also got a big spur on the hock.